Come and meet those dancing feet at Weston’s ‘42nd Street’

Dancing is what “42nd Street” is all about. Here stars Julie Kavanagh and Jeffrey Pew dance the 42nd Street Ballet during Act II./Photos by Tim Fort. Click photo to enlarge.

By David Lampe-Wilson
Freelance theater reviewer

Weston Playhouse puts on its glad rags and kicks up its heels in a revival of the musical icon 42nd Street. Based on the 1933 Warner Bros. musical of the same name (which was inspired by Bradford Ropes’ novel), 42nd Street focuses on the efforts of famed dictatorial director Julian Marsh to mount a successful stage production of a musical at the height of the Great Depression. Nothing is easy and, as the show approaches opening night and the star is injured, it’s left for a neophyte chorus girl to step into her dancing shoes and make the struggling musical a hit.

42nd Street is a touchstone in the American musical theater and, after experiencing the Weston Playhouse production, it is difficult to believe that even the most recalcitrant theatergoer wouldn’t take it to heart. This is a production you can willingly embrace.

Viewed during its final preview, 42nd Street was plagued by a host of technical problems (stubborn curtains, missed lighting cues, wardrobe malfunctions), but the polished cast proved strong and steady, and it powered through the flurry of glitches with seeming ease.

Solid gold performances

Julie Kavanagh plays the wide-eyed Peggy Sawyer, fresh off the bus from Allentown, Pa., and destined for Broadway stardom. Kavanagh’s Sawyer has plenty of spunk and the talent to back it up. She can sing, she can act, she can dance and she can break your heart.

In fact, every featured player in this production proves to be solid gold. Jeffrey Pew is Billy, Peggy’s romantic lead; Pew has a strong, steady tenor voice and dancing chops to go with it. Dorothy Stanley as Maggie Jones nearly walks away (or is it dances?) with every scene she’s in. David Bonanno as director Julian Marsh is saddled with any number of cliched speeches (the most famous line being, “You’re going out there a youngster, but you have to come back a star”) and delivers them with utmost conviction. Susan Haefner takes the role of hard-boiled star Dorothy Brock and turns her character into a three-dimensional woman worthy of our sympathy. These are all seasoned pros doing what they do best and making us believe that nobody else could do it better.

Choreographer Michael Raine has turned a brace of young talent into a dancing machine; there’s something thrilling about a chorus line of tapping feet drumming out a Broadway beat. And what this tiny chorus line lacks in number, it makes up for in chutzpah and talent. Pretty spectacular to see and hear.

A small but talented band of tappers thrills the audience. Click photo to enlarge.

Kudos for this winning show belong at the feet of director Tim Fort, who has assembled a splendid cast and showcases it to its best advantage. If 42nd Street is a valentine to the Great White Way, then Fort is its enthusiastic Cupid. Fort is ably assisted by choreographer Michael Raine, who has turned a brace of young talent into a dancing machine; there’s something thrilling about a chorus line of tapping feet drumming out a Broadway beat. And what this tiny chorus line lacks in number, it makes up for in chutzpah and talent. Pretty spectacular to see and hear.

Larry Pressgrove is listed in the program under the heading Music Director/Orchestral Reduction (read: Music Director/Orchestral Downsizer). While the Overture sounds anemic played by a mere five musicians, this quintet fits nicely within the tiny Playhouse auditorium, and provides some expert musicianship that’s well worth listening to.

“We’re in the Money.” “Wig and makeup design by Erin Kennedy Lunsford creates the look and feel of early sound films, while Ed Chapman’s sound design is thankfully modern, crisp and clear.” Click photo to enlarge.

Karen Ann Ledger’s costumes smack of autumnal splendor — all reds and oranges, bright and lively. Wig and makeup design by Erin Kennedy Lunsford creates the look and feel of early sound films, while Ed Chapman’s sound design is thankfully modern, crisp and clear.

With music by Harry Warren and lyrics by Al Dubin, 42nd Street boasts some of the most exuberant songwriting to come out of early Hollywood musicals, including “You’re Getting to Be a Habit With Me,” “Young and Healthy,” “Shuffle Off to Buffalo” and many others, including the title song. Yes, some tunes are truncated from the film version and songs from other sources have been woven into the play’s fabric (“About a Quarter to Nine,” “Dames,” “Lullaby of Broadway”), but it all adds up to a virtual songbook of American Depression Era music. They may not have had much money back then, but they certainly had a lot of hope and some splendid songs to sing. It’s a joy to hear them once more.

Can’t get away for a summer vacation? Well, you can at least take a stroll along Weston Playhouse’s 42nd Street —  it’s a destination you shouldn’t miss.

42nd Street continues through Aug. 24 at the Weston Playhouse, 703 Main St., Weston. Performances: Tuesday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m.; matinees Wednesday and Saturday at 2 p.m., and Sunday at 3 p.m. For tickets and information, call 802-824-5288.